Dermoid cyst and laparoscopy surgery

I have a 3.9cm dermoid cyst in my left ovary. It didn't grow for the past 1.5 years. My doctois suggests to remove it by laparoscopy surgery so that we dont have to monitor it. And talso to prevent the possible rupture.

I would just leave it. I have a cyst rupture every 1 to 3 years. They normally grow 3 cms for me before they start leaking or burst. Does it cause you pain now? I had my tubes tied in Nov. 2012. I had two incisions: one in belly button and one at top of my pubic hair. I was told I could run again 3 days after but I was still in pain so I tried 5 days after which was uncomfortble so I tried again 7 days after and it was alright.

I had a laparoscopy to remove a lot of endometriosis and a lot of scar tissue that had stuck one of my ovaries to my pelvic wall. I'm not sure how this would compare to removing a dermoid cyst. You might want to ask for a second opinion as well - How risky are dermoid cysts? Do they tend to rupture - what risk factors contribute to the likelihood of rupture? Is yours a high rupture risk based on those factors? Is the risk enough to consider surgery if it's not causing you pain and/or growing or causing any other complications?

The incisions for a laparoscopy are very small, but they do take some time to heal. They generally don't leave scars, but I'm one of the lucky few that have scars left. The scars are tiny and don't bother me at all, but the risk of scarring was something that they didn't make very clear to me either.

I was given the go ahead and encouragement to walk immediately after surgery. I highly recommend this - the gas they fill your abdomen with hurts and takes about a week to reabsorb. Walking really helps move things along.

Overall it was a very good experience, and I went into surgery in a whole lot more pain than I came out with. I was back to work (desk job) after a week, and daily walks took the place of running for several weeks. Riding in a car, wearing pants, and activities that engaged my core (I play flute and rehearsing in the weeks following surgery was surprisingly painful!) were challenging for a lot longer than I expected (I think it was around the third week that I was able to wear pants without it hurting).

I was told no running for 6 weeks, and for me that was about right. I don't remember exactly when I started running again but I had some lingering pain around the incisions and running really aggravated it for a while. I was told no heavy lifting/strength training for 12 weeks - and even at 12 weeks core work was painful.

I remember a post on RW around the time I had my surgery - several other women had laparoscopies within a few months of mine- everyone had a different recovery story - some bounced back much faster than I did. There are a lot of factors involved and it's a major surgery so it's hard to know what to expect. Reading back what I wrote makes it sound horrible, but it was really not that bad overall and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I needed to.

I would just leave it. I have a cyst rupture every 1 to 3 years. They normally grow 3 cms for me before they start leaking or burst. Does it cause you pain now? I had my tubes tied in Nov. 2012. I had two incisions: one in belly button and one at top of my pubic hair. I was told I could run again 3 days after but I was still in pain so I tried 5 days after which was uncomfortble so I tried again 7 days after and it was alright.

My doc will only operate on cysts if they grow to 10 cms

I am leaning towards to leave it as well. It has been stable and (knock on the wood) i don't have any pain. I read it somewhere it is life threatening when the cyst rupture..I guess it is not always the case. Keep my fingers crossed.

I had 2 of those in the past. Mine always caused me severe pain around "that" time of the month. I ended up having emergency surgery to remove them. Of course they went undetected for a very long time, despite going to the hospital a couple times for them. I don't remember what size they were as it was almost 7 years ago. I wasn't running at the time, but I know it took me awhile to get back on my feet, probably from there being 2 instead of just 1 small one, of course they also had to take other stuff mine were pretty bad. One of my tubes had wrapped up around the cyst/tumor. Let's just say I don't play games when it comes to this kind of stuff personally but I know that sometimes cysts are no big deal.

If your doctor says that it is fine to leave it then ok, if they suggest removing it, then it might be a pretty good idea. If it ruptures it could be extremely painful (happened to my sister). Feel free to get a second opinion from another doctor as well. After all it is your body.

I tried to find the old thread about this, guess it was lost with the old forum.

Anyway, I had a lap to remove some cysts , they found endometriosis and cleared that up as well, which has helped a lot. I started running maybe 3-4 weeks later? I can't remember exactly but the bloating after lasted for about 6 weeks, but it wasn't painful or anything. IF you think you have endo, the surgery would probably be beneficial. Good luck on your decision!

omgoodness! A week before My marathon I was diagnosed with a large 5.4cm ovarian cyst. They said it wasn't cancerous and when I asked about my running they said the only worry they had was if it would rupture. I never got an exact yes or no from them on what to do. I was stumped. I had trained so hard, in fact I was done with my training. I noticed something was holding me back from my regular pace and at that moment I knew why. So, after thinking and thinking on what to do I decided to go for it. I decided to listen to my body and if I felt a lot of pain or if I just didn't feel right I would stop. Good luck and if you get it removed I hope you can be out on the road again in no time. I'm not really sure whats going to happen with mine. I'm going back in 4weeks for an ultrasound and I may just be in the same boat as you! one question, you said it didn't grow for over a year. did it cause you any discomfort or anything during that year? Please keep us updated and I so hope you have a speedy recovery!

I have a 3.9cm dermoid cyst in my left ovary. It didn't grow for the past 1.5 years. My doctois suggests to remove it by laparoscopy surgery so that we dont have to monitor it. And talso to prevent the possible rupture.

Has anyone had this done before?

How many weeks after the surgery you are back to running again?

Thanks

In your left ovary or on it?

Did you ask your doc why he/she recommends removal rather than hormonal control and monitoring? Do you know if you have endometriosis as well?

Originally Posted by LeahMuriel:

My doc will only operate on cysts if they grow to 10 cms

Wow. I'm surprised. Normally I think OBGYNs are too quick to want to surgically remove cysts that aren't symptomatic, but 10 cms is well above the threshhold where you'll see a full rupture and reabsorption rather than a partial rupture (which can tend to reheal and partially rupture on an ongoing basis).

Determined Tortoise: I know. I was surprised. I have had a few that had a steady leak. When I was pregnant with my 3rd baby I had a slow leaking cyst that got progressively more painful from weeks 6 to 9 of my pregnancy. At 9 weeks it was so painful that I was worried I had an ectopic pregnancy so I went to the ER where they did an Ultrasound right away. Baby was safe and sound where she should be and there was a lot of fluid around the cyst. Took another 6 weeks for the pain to disappear as my body absorbed the fluid. I also have side pain near my right ovary pretty constantly ever since I had my appendix out when I was 18. I have complained about the pain to several doctors for the past 14 years. I had my tubes tied in NOv. 2012 and they discovered that my intestines were adhered to my abdominal wall. It would have adhered during my recovery from my appendectomy. So now I know why I have constant pain there and it no longers worries me. The gynecologist didn't scrape it off because there was too big off a chance of it readhering and causing stronger adherences. So they left it as is.

HelloCurrently I have a 4.9"x5.5" dermoid cyst. They do not know how long I have had it. With it being so large it is causing many complications for me. Exhaustion, iBS, frequent urination, acne, hair breakage, cramping, bloating...and so on. Dermoid cysts are different from other ovarian cysts. They are complex and are not filled with fluid. They are filled with hair, skin, bone, and other fun items! Should a dermoid rupture it can cause many medical complications...infection...emergency surgery. Dermoids that are small such as 1-2cm may disappear on their own however I would not wait and see. With the size of your it is laparoscopic surgery which is less invasive than laparotomy which is what I have to have ...good luck! I hope I have helped

Woah ladies!!! A dermoid cyst is not the same thing as an ovarian cyst. Dermoids contain hair, fat and even teeth since they are made up of displaced tissues (ectopic cells). They can grow large and cause an ovarian torsion (twisting of blood vessels) which causes excruciating pain as the ovary is starved for blood. Dermoids have potential to turn cancerous since these cells are abnormally placed in the ovary. They must be watched and I would not recommend keeping the ovary since it will eventually consume the ovary on that side....and there is a cancer risk. Please get more information from your doctor specific to dermoids. There is no reason to leave it in and take the risk of torsion or cancer. I agree, a simple cyst can be watched through 2 menstrual cycles for resolution or even be treated with birth control pills before going to surgery.

Woah ladies!!! A dermoid cyst is not the same thing as an ovarian cyst. Dermoids contain hair, fat and even teeth since they are made up of displaced tissues (ectopic cells). They can grow large and cause an ovarian torsion (twisting of blood vessels) which causes excruciating pain as the ovary is starved for blood. Dermoids have potential to turn cancerous since these cells are abnormally placed in the ovary. They must be watched and I would not recommend keeping the ovary since it will eventually consume the ovary on that side....and there is a cancer risk. Please get more information from your doctor specific to dermoids. There is no reason to leave it in and take the risk of torsion or cancer. I agree, a simple cyst can be watched through 2 menstrual cycles for resolution or even be treated with birth control pills before going to surgery.

Ronda

YEs, but if you're going to remove an ovary (not saying that you shouldn't do so where the risks are quite serious) you also need to factor in age, hormone levels, whether you're done having children/don't want any, and other GYN conditions. There's no reason to put your life at risk just to keep an ovary, but there are actions you might want to take before doing so.